Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday inaugurated the modern online computer based examination centre of the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission constructed at a cost of Rs. 1.75 crore.
"In the present era of information technology, it becomes vital that the technology is used at the fullest to ensure promptness, transparency, accountability and minimising any scope of error," he said, adding that effective use of IT not only helps in saving time in cumbersome procedures, but also in instilling the faith of the candidates in the Commission.
Thakur said that now, both online and offline examinations would be conducted by the Commission in its own examination hall. With the start of this computer based examination centre, dependency on private IT labs will decrease considerable especially for conducting online examinations and the Commission will be self-dependent to conduct online examinations in a time bound manner. He said that around 350 candidates can be adjusted in this lab at a time either in online or offline examinations.
The chief minister said that the state government is committed to strengthen and modernise the Commission and would provide all possible help for its effective functioning. The full use of IT would also facilitate the candidates as they would not have to travel all the way to Shimla to submit their documents and would also get admit cards online. The Chief Minister said that the state government would also sympathetically consider setting up of a facilitation centre at Dharamshala for convenience of the candidates.
Chairman, HP Public Service Commission Maj. General DVS Rana said the Commission has ensured maximum use of IT to ensure transparency in selection process, one time registration of candidates and conducting online computer based examination etc. He said that the Commission has also introduced mobile app for providing complete information regarding various examinations, launching of My Exam My Online Review Portal to facilitate the candidates.